PDF Instructor’s Handbook FAA H-8083-9A - 2 MB
This is the official FAA-H-8083-9A Aviation Instructor's Handbook.
It serves as the foundational resource for all flight and ground instructors, providing guidance on the fundamentals of instruction.
The handbook covers topics such as human behavior, the learning process, effective communication, and assessment.
It is an essential study tool for anyone preparing for an instructor certificate and a valuable reference for experienced educators.
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Barriers to Effective Communication ............................3-4 Suitable Language ................................................4-11
Lack of Common Experience .....................................3-4 Types of Delivery .................................................4-11
Confusion Between the Symbol and the Symbolized Use of Notes .........................................................4-12
Object .........................................................................3-5 Formal Versus Informal Lectures .........................4-12
Overuse of Abstractions .............................................3-5 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Lecture .....4-12
Interference ................................................................3-6
Discussion Method ...................................................4-13
Developing Communication Skills ................................3-7
Guided Discussion Method ......................................4-13
Role Playing ..............................................................3-7
Use of Questions in a Guided Discussion.............4-13
Instructional Communication .....................................3-7
Planning a Guided Discussion ..............................4-14
Listening ....................................................................3-8
Student Preparation for a Guided Discussion .......4-14
Questioning ...............................................................3-9
Instructional Enhancement .......................................3-10 Guiding a Discussion—Instructor Technique ......4-14
Chapter Summary ........................................................3-10 Advantages ...........................................................4-15
Problem-Based Learning ............................................4-15
Chapter 4 Teaching Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) .....4-16
The Teaching Process ........................................4-1 Types of Problem-Based Instruction ........................4-16
Introduction ....................................................................4-1 Scenario-Based Training Method (SBT) ..............4-16
What Is Teaching? ........................................................4-2 Collaborative Problem-Solving Method ...............4-17
Essential Teaching Skills ..........................................4-2 Case Study Method ...............................................4-17
People Skills ...........................................................4-2 Electronic Learning (E-Learning) ................................4-18
Subject Matter Expertise.........................................4-2 Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL) Method ..........4-19
Management Skills ................................................4-3 Simulation, Role-Playing, and Video Gaming .........4-20
Assessment Skills ..................................................4-3 Cooperative or Group Learning Method......................4-20
Instructor’s Code of Conduct .........................................4-3 Conditions and Controls ...........................................4-20
Course of Training .........................................................4-4 Demonstration-Performance Method...........................4-21
Preparation of a Lesson ..................................................4-4 Explanation Phase ....................................................4-21
Training Objectives and Standards ...........................4-4 Demonstration Phase ................................................4-21
Performance-Based Objectives .................................4-5 Student Performance and Instructor Supervision
Description of the Skill or Behavior .......................4-6 Phases .......................................................................4-21
Conditions ...............................................................4-6 Evaluation Phase ......................................................4-21
Drill and Practice Method ............................................4-21
Criteria ....................................................................4-6
Conclusion ................................................................4-22
The Importance of the PTS in Aviation Training
Application of the Lesson ............................................4-22
Curricula ....................................................................4-6
Assessment of the Lesson ............................................4-22
Decision-Based Objectives .......................................4-7
Instructional Aids and Training Technologies.............4-22
Other Uses of Training Objectives .............................4-7
Instructional Aid Theory ..........................................4-22
Presentation of a Lesson ................................................4-8
Reasons for Use of Instructional Aids......................4-23
Organization of Material ................................................4-8
Guidelines for Use of Instructional Aids..................4-24
Introduction ................................................................4-8
Types of Instructional Aids ......................................4-25
Attention .................................................................4-8
Chalk or Marker Board .........................................4-25
Motivation...............................................................4-9
Supplemental Print Material .................................4-25
Overview.................................................................4-9
Enhanced Training Materials ................................4-26
Development ..............................................................4-9
Projected Material .................................................4-26
Past to Present .........................................................4-9
Video.....................................................................4-27
Simple to Complex .................................................4-9
Interactive CDs and DVDs ...................................4-27
Known to Unknown ................................................4-9
Most Frequently Used to Least Used......................4-9 Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL) ...................4-28
Models, Mock-ups, and Cut-Aways .....................4-28
Conclusion ................................................................4-10
Training Delivery Methods ..........................................4-10 Test Preparation Material .............................................4-29
Lecture Method ........................................................4-10 Future Developments ...................................................4-29
Teaching Lecture ..................................................4-10 Chapter Summary ........................................................4-29
Preparing the Teaching Lecture ............................4-10
ix
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now are pushed away, to be dealt with at another time, or Rationalization
hopefully never because they faded away on their own accord. Rationalization is a subconscious technique for justifying
The level of repression can vary from temporarily forgetting actions that otherwise would be unacceptable. When true
an uncomfortable thought to amnesia, where the events that rationalization takes place, individuals sincerely believe
triggered the anxiety are deeply buried. Repressed memories in the plausible and acceptable excuses which seem real
do not disappear and may reappear in dreams or slips of the and justifiable. For example, a student mechanic performs
tongue (“Freudian slips”). For example, a student pilot may poorly on a test. He or she may justify the poor grade by
have a repressed fear of flying that inhibits his or her ability claiming there was not enough time to learn the required
to learn how to fly. information. The student does not admit to failing to join
the class study group or taking the computer quiz offered
Denial by the instructor.
Denial is a refusal to accept external reality because it is
too threatening. It is the refusal to acknowledge what has Reaction Formation
happened, is happening, or will happen. It is a form of In reaction formation a person fakes a belief opposite to the
repression through which stressful thoughts are banned from true belief because the true belief causes anxiety. The person
memory. Related to denial is minimization. When a person feels an urge to do or say something and then actually does or
minimizes something, he or she accepts what happened, but says something that is the opposite of what he or she really
in a diluted form. wants. For example, a student may develop a who-cares-how-
other-people-feel attitude to cover up feelings of loneliness
For example, the instructor finds a screwdriver on the wing of and a hunger for acceptance.
an aircraft the maintenance student was repairing and explains
the hazards of foreign object damage (FOD). The student, Fantasy
unwilling to accept the reality that his or her inattention
Fantasy occurs when a student engages in daydreams about
could have caused an aircraft accident, denies having been
how things should be rather than doing anything about how
in a hurry the previous day. Or, the student minimizes the
things are. The student uses his or her imagination to escape
incident, accepting he or she left the tool but pointing out that
from reality into a fictitious world—a world of success or
nothing bad happened as a result of the action.
pleasure. This provides a simple and satisfying escape from
problems, but if a student gets sufficient satisfaction from
Other defense mechanisms include but are not limited to
daydreaming, he or she may stop trying to achieve goals
the following:
altogether. Perhaps the transitioning pilot is having trouble
mastering a more complex aircraft, which jeopardizes his or
Compensation her dream of becoming an airline pilot. It becomes easier to
Compensation is a process of psychologically counterbalancing daydream about the career than to achieve the certification.
perceived weaknesses by emphasizing strength in other Lost in the fantasy, the student spends more time dreaming
areas. Through compensation, students often attempt to about being a successful airline pilot than working toward
disguise the presence of a weak or undesirable quality by the goal. When carried to extremes, the worlds of fantasy
emphasizing a more positive one. The “I’m not a fighter, and reality can become so confused that the dreamer cannot
I’m a lover” philosophy can be an example of compensation. distinguish one from the other.
Compensation involves substituting success in a realm
of life other than the realm in which the person suffers a Displacement
weakness.
This defense mechanism results in an unconscious shift of
emotion, affect, or desire from the original object to a more
Projection acceptable, less threatening substitute. Displacement avoids
Through projection, an individual places his or her own the risk associated with feeling unpleasant emotions and
unacceptable impulses onto someone else. A person puts them somewhere other than where they belong. For
relegates the blame for personal shortcomings, mistakes, example, the avionics student is angry with the instructor
and transgressions to others or attributes personal motives, over a grade received, but fears displaying the anger could
desires, characteristics, and impulses to others. The student cause the instructor to lower the grade. The student might
pilot who fails a flight exam and says, “I failed because I had choose to express the anger but redirects it toward another,
a poor examiner” believes the failure was not due to a lack safer person such as a spouse. Maybe the student yells at the
of personal skill or knowledge. This student projects blame spouse, but the student knows the spouse either forgives the
onto an “unfair” examiner.
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Perception involves more than the reception of stimuli from Self-Concept
the five senses; it also involves a person giving meaning Self-concept is a powerful determinant in learning. A
to sensations. People base their actions on the way they student’s self-image, described in such terms as “confident”
believe things to be. The experienced AMT, for example, or “insecure,” has a great influence on the total perceptual
perceives an engine malfunction quite differently than does process. If a student’s experiences tend to support a
an inexperienced student. This occurs because the beginning favorable self-image, the student tends to remain receptive to
aviation student is overwhelmed by stimuli and often focuses subsequent experiences. If a student has negative experiences,
on meaningless things, thus missing key information. It is which tend to contradict self-concept, there is a tendency to
important for the instructor to direct trainee’s perceptions reject additional training.
initially so that the student detects and perceives relevant
information. A negative self-concept inhibits the perceptual processes by
introducing psychological barriers, which tend to keep the
Real meaning comes only from within a person, even though student from perceiving. They may also inhibit the ability
the perceptions, which evoke these meanings, result from to properly implement what is perceived. That is, self-
external stimuli. The meanings, which are derived from concept affects the ability to actually perform or do things
perceptions, are influenced not only by the individual’s unfavorably. Students who view themselves positively, on
experience, but also by many other factors. Knowledge of the other hand, are less defensive and more receptive to new
the factors that affect the perceptual process is very important experiences, instructions, and demonstrations.
to the aviation instructor because perceptions are the basis
of all learning. Time and Opportunity
It takes time and opportunity to perceive. Learning some
Factors That Affect Perception
things depends on other perceptions, which have preceded
Both internal and external factors affect an individual’s these learnings, and on the availability of time to sense and
ability to perceive: relate these new things to the earlier perceptions. Thus, proper
• Physical organism sequence and time are necessary.
• Goals and values
A student could probably stall an aircraft on the first attempt,
• Self-concept regardless of previous experience. Stalls cannot really be
• Time and opportunity learned, however, unless some experience in normal flight has
been acquired. Even with such experience, time and practice
• Element of threat
are needed to relate the new sensations and experiences
associated with stalls in order to develop a perception of the
Physical Organism
stall. In general, lengthening an experience and increasing its
The physical organism provides individuals with the frequency are the most obvious ways to speed up learning,
perceptual apparatus for sensing the world around them. although this is not always effective. Many factors, in
Pilots, for example, must be able to see, hear, feel, and addition to the length and frequency of training periods, affect
respond adequately while they are in the air. the rate of learning. The effectiveness of the use of a properly
planned training syllabus is proportional to the consideration
Goals and Values it gives to the time and opportunity factor in perception.
Perceptions depend on one’s values and goals. Every
experience and sensation, which is funneled into one’s Element of Threat
central nervous system, is colored by the individual’s own The element of threat does not promote effective learning.
beliefs and value structures. Spectators at a ball game may In fact, fear adversely affects perception by narrowing the
see an infraction or foul differently depending on which perceptual field. Confronted with threat, students tend to limit
team they support. The values of the student are important their attention to the threatening object or condition. The
for the instructor to know, because this knowledge assists field of vision is reduced, for example, when an individual
in predicting how the student interprets experiences and is frightened and all the perceptual faculties are focused on
instructions. the thing that has generated fear.
Goals are also a product of one’s value structure. Things Flight instruction provides many clear examples of this.
that are more highly valued and cherished are pursued; those During the initial practice of steep turns, Beverly may focus
accorded less value and importance are not sought after.
2-7
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them meaningful only if they understand them well enough Learning Is an Active Process
to apply them correctly to real situations. If an experience Students do not soak up knowledge like a sponge absorbs
challenges the students, requires involvement with feelings, water. The instructor cannot assume that students remember
thoughts, memory of past experiences, and physical activity, something just because they were in the classroom, shop, or
it is more effective than a learning experience in which all the aircraft when the instructor presented the material. Neither
students have to do is commit something to memory. can the instructor assume the students can apply what they
know because they can quote the correct answer verbatim.
It seems clear enough that the learning of a physical skill For students to learn, they need to react and respond,
requires actual experience in performing that skill. Student perhaps outwardly, perhaps only inwardly, emotionally, or
pilots learn to fly aircraft only if their experiences include intellectually.
flying them; student AMTs learn to overhaul power plants
only by actually performing that task. Mental habits are Learning Styles
also learned through practice. If students are to use sound Learning styles are simply different approaches or ways
judgment and develop decision-making skills, they need of learning based on the fact that people absorb and
learning experiences that involve knowledge of general process information in different ways. Learning style is
principles and require the use of judgment in solving realistic an individual’s preference for understanding experiences
problems. and changing them into knowledge. It denotes the typical
strategy a learner adopts in a learning situation. For example,
Learning Is Multifaceted
information may be learned in a variety of ways: by seeing
If instructors see their objective as being only to train their or hearing, by reflecting or acting, analyzing or visualizing,
students’ memory and muscles, they are underestimating or it may be learned piecemeal or steadily. Just as people
the potential of the teaching situation. Students learn much learn differently, they also have different teaching methods.
more than expected if they fully exercise their minds and Some instructors rely on lectures, others demonstrate, and
feelings. The fact that these items were not included in the others may prefer computer simulation training. Everyone
instructor’s plan does not prevent them from influencing the has a mixture of strengths and preferences, not a single style
learning situation. or preference to the complete exclusion of any other. Please
bear this in mind when using these ideas.
Psychologists sometimes classify learning by types, such as
verbal, conceptual, perceptual, motor, problem-solving, and As mentioned in chapter 1 and the discussion of personality
emotional. Other classifications refer to intellectual skills, types and learning, underpinning the idea of learning style is
cognitive strategies, and attitudinal changes, along with the theory that everyone has an individual style of learning.
descriptive terms like surface or deep learning. However According to this approach to learning, if the student and
useful these divisions may be, they are somewhat artificial. instructor work with that style, rather than against it, both
For example, a class learning to apply the scientific method benefit. Currently, 71 different theories of learning styles
of problem-solving may learn the method by trying to solve have been identified. These theories run from simple to
real problems. But in doing so, the class also engages in complex, usually reflecting scientific research about how the
verbal learning and sensory perception at the same time. brain processes information. While the scientific community
Each student approaches the task with preconceived ideas may be surprised at how the research has been used, many
and feelings, and for many students, these ideas change as educators and school systems have become advocates of
a result of experience. Therefore, the learning process may applying learning style to teaching methods.
include verbal elements, conceptual elements, perceptual
elements, emotional elements, and problem-solving elements Another model for learning, the Approaches to Learning
all taking place at once. This aspect of learning will become model, bases its theory on the student’s learning intentions.
more evident later in this handbook when lesson planning For example, is the student interested in short-term
is discussed. memorization of the material or long-term knowledge? Does
the student want a passing grade on a pop quiz or the ability
Learning is multifaceted in still another way. While learning to use the material learned to repair an engine? One feature
the subject at hand, students may be learning other things as of the Approaches to Learning is that the learner’s approach
well. They may be developing attitudes about aviation—good to learning depends on his or her reasons for learning. This
or bad—depending on what they experience. Under a skillful theory reflects the chapter 1 discussion of adult learners
instructor, they may learn self-reliance. The list is seemingly who come to aviation training with definite reasons for
endless. This type of learning is sometimes referred to learning.
as incidental, but it may have a great impact on the total
development of the student.
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home, Bill attempts to generalize her new abilities and put One approach to helping students develop cognitive strategies
yet a different spin on the same problem. He presents the is to study and identify the strategies that experts use and
low-fuel scenario, taking advantage of the fact that there are then teach these strategies to the students. Expert strategies
eight nearby airports. All of the airports are in plain view, were identified by researchers who presented experts with
and she must choose one. problems to solve and asked them to think aloud as they
attempted to solve the problems. These cognitive strategies
Each of these scenarios taught Beverly something she needed can be taught to students, usually with successful results.
to learn next, and made good use of the surroundings and
available circumstances. As these examples illustrate, there Problem-Solving Tactics
is no list of “canned” scenarios that can be used for all Problem-solving tactics are specific actions intended to get
students. Instructors must learn to devise their own scenarios a particular result, and this type of knowledge represents the
by considering what each student needs to practice, and most targeted knowledge in the expert’s arsenal. For example,
exploiting features of the local environment that allow them a student notices how easy it is to make a mistake with a
to do it. takeoff distance chart after using it several times. She notices
her finger drifts upward or downward when sliding it across a
The Learning Route to Expertise row of numbers on the chart, sometimes landing on the wrong
What does it take to successfully orchestrate all of the number. The student formulates several tactics to ensure she
knowledge and skills the student has learned into what obtains the correct figures: (1) work slowly and deliberately,
instructors, evaluators, and other pilots and mechanics would (2) use a ruler, and (3) double-check the work.
regard as true expertise? All evidence seems to point once
again to the idea of practice. Just as the perfection of an But even the experts had to practice. In a study of violinists at
individual skill seems to rely on repeated practice, so does a music academy in Berlin, researchers compared the “best”
the combination of knowledge and skills that make up our students to those who were regarded as merely “very good.”
abilities to do the real-world job of pilot or mechanic. Using estimates of how many total hours each student had
spent practicing during his or her lifetime, the researchers
How much practice does it take to become a true expert? In found that the best violinists had spent an average of 7,000
a study of expert performers in fields ranging from science hours practicing, while the very good violinists had logged
to music to chess, one psychologist found that no performer about 5,000 hours. The scientific study of expertise reiterates
had reached true expertise without having invested at least the adage: “Practice makes perfect.”
ten years of practice in his or her field. Experts have been
found to use two tools to help them gain expertise in their Awareness of Existence of Unknowns
field: cognitive strategies and problem-solving tactics. An important aspect of an expert’s knowledge is an awareness
of what he or she does not know. This is not always the case
Cognitive Strategies with a student. It’s important that an instructor be aware of
The idea of cognitive strategies emerged over 50 years ago situations in which students have acquired “book” knowledge,
in the context of human information processing theory. but not yet acquired the more in-depth understanding that
Cognitive strategies refer to the knowledge of procedures or comes from association and experience. For example, after
knowledge about how to do something in contrast with the acquiring substantial knowledge of a single-engine training
knowledge of facts. They use the mind to solve a problem aircraft, students should understand that a four-seat aircraft
or complete a task and provide a structure for learning by the same manufacturer should be approached with caution
that actively promotes the comprehension and retention of and not overconfidence.
knowledge. A cognitive strategy helps the learner develop
internal procedures that enable him or her to perform higher Summary of Instructor Actions
level operations. To help students exercise their knowledge and skills in a
concerted fashion, the instructor should:
As students acquire experience, they develop their own • Explain the two types of multitasking and give
strategies for dealing with problems that arise frequently. examples of each type.
For example, a student develops the following strategy for
avoiding inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological • Ensure that individual skills are reasonably well-
conditions (IMC) at night. He or she checks the weather prior practiced before asking students to perform several
to departure, obtains updates on the weather every hour, and tasks at once.
plans to divert to an alternate destination at the first suspicion
of unexpected weather ahead.
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